Plan for the best, plan for the worst

Mar 19

By Scott Arizala

Ok, these are very uncertain times. No one really knows what’s going to happen this summer; we can’t really even be sure about tomorrow. But one thing is certain…Summer Is Coming. When June comes, we will all have to be prepared to serve our communities, families, and kids in whatever form that can take. I wish that means we could all just “hope for the best” but really we need to turn all our time, attention, and horror to “the worst”. The logic that follows from that phrase we are all hearing so much these days is that we should stop what we are doing and plan for staffing shortages, travel restrictions, or even worse, to the possibility of no summer camp at all. I think that is fair, and we should definitely spend part of our time and energy tackling those very big challenges. I think we will rise up as a community and help each other. When someone gets a good idea about staffing, program, and the like, they will share it and we will all be better for it. AND, if you are like every other camp professional out there, Mid-March is when we all normally start accelerating towards crazy town. Things are far from normal. We have to both plan for the worst-case scenario and at the same time keeping planning and preparing as if this summer will happen right on schedule. If it does, summer camp may be more critical than ever this year.

It’s time to go back to what has been working for you. Some combination of your skills, leadership, and the help of your network has gotten you this far in your year to plan for an amazing summer of 2020. Take an honest assessment of what those things are, and double-down on them. Here are the two biggest things that we can do right now to get ready for what ever could be next:

Organize your work flows.

For some of us that means fitting 40+ hours of work into a mere 10 to 15 hours of available time…between craft projects, home schooling, meal times, and taking a crash course on common core base 10 math (or maybe that last one is just me). Now is the time for you to channel your productivity and efficiency selves. You don’t have that self, you say? We parted ways in my 20s, you say? Nonsense. You just stopped practicing and it’s probably because you just shifted that hard work towards something you like or are interested in. So, start there. What’s your favorite thing to do? What are your hobbies or interest? What are you doing when you experience flow? Chances are you use all kinds of strategies to get yourself to said interest or activity, and when you are doing these things you probably use your time really efficiently. You already know what makes you tick, you already know what will get you moving. It’s time to dig deep, be honest, and get to work.

Ask for help.

I know you know. We all say it and rarely do it. Well, now is the time. The entire world is asking for help right now. It’s ok. We all need help. Be specific when you ask. Think of it like a volunteer opportunity for your life instead for your camp or organization. People love to help, but they need help helping. Give them guidance and opportunities and most people will happily chip in. And as a side note, when offering some help, it’s not enough to just say, “let me know if you need anything.” Don’t make your help a burden. Just show up (digitally or at the appropriate distance, of course, more figuratively than literally). We are and have been stronger together.